The House of Hohenfeld (von Hohenfeld, Hohenfelder) is the name of an ancient family of Austrian Nobility, originally centered around Upper Austria. The family was extinguished in male line in 1824.
The name is variously spelled as (von) Hohenfeld, Höhenfeld, Hohenfeldt, Hochenfeld(en), Hochfeld, Hoenfelt, etc.
Conrad Kempff produced a genealogical tree of the family in 1639. In this work, he traces back the roots of the line to a progenitor Babo of Hochfeld, in the 11th century, who would have been one of the 32 legendary sons of Count Babo of Abensperg. His descendants would have stayed in Bavaria until about 1200 and married into several Bavarian noble houses (Neuburg, Wolfratshausen, Traun, Haag, Hirschhorn, Lamberg, Eurasberg).
No evidence of the supposed descent from the Babonids [<nowiki/>[[:de:Babonen|de]]] exists. The line of the Babonids ended in 1196, after which their goods were violently appropriated by the Counts of Wittelsbach in the early 13th century – about the time of the disappearance of the Hohenfelder from Bavaria.
The family reappeared in Austria in the 13th century. Around the year 1220, the founder of a short-lived junior line, Heinrich von Hohenfeld zu Stiela, was a Cammer-Juncker for the Babenberger Dukes of Styria.[1] From the early 13th century, the main line of the family settled in St Georgen im Attergau in Upper Austria with Heinrich's elder brother Georg and his son Otto I von Hohenfeld (about 1245–1328), from whom the uninterrupted line of the Hohenfeld family can be traced back.
A record [2] referring to an Ulreich von Hohenfeld, as noted in the Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, is dated to 1 May 1291, but this Ulreich can as of yet not be linked.
The family belonged to the ranks of the lower nobility at first. But over the centuries, they acquired many lands and held important offices in Austria and in the German lands. The family intermarried among the twelve so-called "Apostle Houses", such as the Traun, Polheim [<nowiki/>[[:de:Polheim (Adelsgeschlecht)|de]]], Jörger, and Zinzendorf. They were known as ministeriales of the Counts of Schaunberg[3], from whom they acquired Castle Edramsberg in 1472.
Christoph von Hohenfeld († 1496) joined the Mailberger Bund [<nowiki/>[[:de:Mailberger_Bund|de]]] in 1451, alongside Ulrich von Eyczing [<nowiki/>[[:de:Ulrich_von_Eyczing|de]]] and Ulrich of Celje, against Frederick III.
Two notable family members from this period are:
Protestantism spread rapidly in Austria, triggered by its adoption by the local nobility. The Hohenfelder, to begin with Wolfgang von Hohenfeld (1505-1568), were affiliated with the nucleus of Protestant nobility from an early phase.[5] Wolfgang was head of the only extant branch of the Hohenfeld family by that time. He was befriended with some of the most influential Protestant nobles such as Jörg von Perkheim (~1485-1559) and Christoph II Jörger von Tollet (~1502-~1578). The former happened to be Wolfgang's closest aristocratic neighbor. The latter was an early Protestant convert, studied under Martin Luther, and returned to Austria as a propagator of Protestantism.[6]
Wolfgang's only surviving son, Achaz von Hohenfeld (~1535-1603), studied in Wittenberg in 1557 and in Tübingen under Philip Melanchthon in 1561.[7] Returning to Austria, he became an inspector of a collegiate school in 1571 [7] and was known as 'the Lutheran Pope'.[8] He became involved, among others, with Jakob Andreae.[9]
After Achaz' death in 1603, the Hohenfeld titles, goods, and Protestant legacy were passed on to his sons Otto, Wolfgang, Ludwig, Christoph, Michael, and Rudolph, born between 1575 and 1585. The Hohenfeld did not sign the League of Horn [<nowiki/>[[:de:Horner Bund|de]]] in 1608, but continued to be related and affiliated to many of its signers consisting of influential Protestant nobles. After the major Protestant defeat at the Battle of White Mountain and the ensuing end of the Bohemian Revolt in 1620, counter-reformation pressure began to increase in Upper Austria.
All children of Achaz were impacted by the events following 1620:
Only one branch of the family had remained in Austria after around 1620, namely the branch of Markus von Hohenfeld (1577-1618) and his branch would endure the longest. After his and his siblings' conversion to Catholicism, Markus' eldest son Ferdinand (1612-1675) was confirmed in his knighthood on 28 July 1652 with the title of Austrian Freiherr. This was followed, on 7 March 1669, by an elevation to the rank of Imperial Count, which was later enhanced by a further ennoblement of his son Otto Heinrich (1650-1719) to the rank of Austrian Count on 24 December 1714. Ferdinand's younger brother Wolf Ludwig (1615-...) would produce a younger line next to Ferdinand's comital line, which would survive for another three generations into the 18th century.
Ferdinand's comital line was continued with his son Otto Heinrich, then by Otto Ferdinand Felix (1674-1741) and afterwards by his son Otto Karl Maximilian (1704-1772).
The latter, Otto Karl Maximilian von Hohenfeld, had two sons and a daughter:
The Napoleonic Wars caused the last major developments around the family. In July 1809, Otto Adolph Karl Johann von Hohenfeld was promoted to lieutenant field marshal after he had distinguished himself in the victorious Battle of Aspern, together with Radetzky. Also in 1809, Aistersheim and the Innviertel region came to Bavaria until 1814. On 7 October 1813, the remaining members of the extant line were registered as bavarian knights (Ritter), in addition to its comital titles in Austria.
The male family line was finally extinguished in 1824 with the death of Otto Adolph Karl Johann on 14 May 1824 in Linz. His four sisters sold the lordship and domain to Johann Karl Dworzak in 1830, whose descendants would continue to own Castle Aistersheim until the second half of the 20th century. The last sister and therefore the final Hohenfeld, Maria Karolina, would die in 28 July 1858.
The pronominal arms of the von Hohenfeld are blazoned azure, a fess argent charged with a rose gules. The Hohenfelder inherited the Symaninger titles and lands in the 13th century and quartered their own rose arms, in the second and third position, with theirs (sable, two horns argent with backs to each other facing downwards roped gules and banded or), in the first and fourth position.
There is some similarity between the pronominal arms of the Hohenfelder (a single rose on a fess) and their supposed progenitors the Babones (three roses on a bend). Several arms of other noble houses claiming descent from the Babones, as well as various castles and monasteries associated with them, bear similarities (roses on a fess/per fess/a bend/per bend) as well.
The Babones, who produced two Minnesänger (authors of love songs and poems in which roses were often a theme), seemed to have been associated with roses, having founded various abbeys and towns such as Rosenburg [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Rosenburg (Riedenburg)|de]]] and Rosenheim, on top of their attributed arms.
If there is any linkage at all, the differences between the arms could be explained by the extinction of the Babones in proto-heraldic or very early heraldic times namely 1196, where coats of arms were more fluidly defined and colors and shapes could vary.
| Residence | Location | Acquired | Key Events | Lost | Picture | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wasserschloss Aistersheim [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Aistersheim|de]]] website | Upper Austria | 1443: Inherited by Johann I (Hanns I) von Hohenfeld's (1385-1464) through his marriage to heiress Anna von Aisterheim | 1600: Finished extension renovation works. 1620: Attacked and taken by Tilly. 1626: Served as Peasants' headquarters during the Peasant War, and subsequently burned. 1771: A fire causes heavy damage | 1830: Sold to Johann Carl Dworzak | ||
| Schloss Almegg or Talmeck [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Almegg|de]]] | Upper Austria | ~1535: Given to Achaz von Hohenfeld (~1491-1545) by the Albrechtsheimer as a wedding gift on his marriage to heiress Esther von Albrechtsheim (1517-1557) | 1808: Sold by Otto von Hohenfeld to Franz Foret von Breitenfeld in 1808 | |||
| Schloss Peuerbach [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Peuerbach|de]]] | Upper Austria | 1593: Bought by Achaz von Hohenfeld (1551-1603) from Georg Achaz von Starhemberg | 1626: Taken over by Wolf Siegmund von Herberstein [<nowiki/>[[:de:Herberstein (Adelsgeschlecht)|de]]] | |||
| Wasserschloss Weidenholz [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Weidenholz|de]]] | Upper Austria | 1612: Bought by the brothers Hohenfeld from Christine von Losenstein (married to heir Wolfgang Bergheimer) and allotted to Ludwig von Hohenfeld (1576-1644) | 1635: Sold by Ludwig, due to his exile, to Hans Ludwig von Kueffstein [<nowiki/>[[:de:Johann Ludwig von Kuefstein|de]]] (an Imperial commander who converted to Catholicism in 1627) |
| Residence | Location | Acquired | Key Events | Lost | Picture | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schloss Schlüßlberg [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Schlüßlberg|de]]] | Upper Austria | 1429: Bought or inherited by Erasmus von Hohenfeld (~1400-1461) from his mother's (Agnes Schifer) family | 1472: Sold by Erasmus' son Christoph von Hohenfeld (~1465-~1520) to Christoff Jörger [<nowiki/>[[:de:Jörger von Tollet|de]]] | |||
| Burg Schönering [<nowiki/>[[:de:Burg Schönering|de]]] | Upper Austria | 1443: Inherited by Johann I von Hohenfeld (1385-1464) through his marriage to heiress Anna von Aisterheim | 1477: Destroyed in 1477 | |||
| Burg Edramsberg [<nowiki/>[[:de:Burg Edramsberg|de]]] | Upper Austria | 1477: Destroyed by the troops of Christoph I von Liechtenstein but reaffirmed to Christoph von Hohenfeld by the Bisshop of Passau in 1484 | After 1477: Fell into disrepair | |||
| Schloss Kirchberg am Walde [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Kirchberg am Walde (Niederösterreich)|de]]] | Lower Austria | 1489: Acquired by the Hohenfelder from the lords of Kirchberg | 1555: Acquired by Dietmar von Losenstein [<nowiki/>[[:de:Dietmar von Losenstein|de]]] | |||
| Schloss Radeck [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Radeck|de]]] | Salzburg area | ~1520: Acquired by Erasmus von Hohenfeld (Canon of Passau) for his relative Margarete Saurer to live | ~1550: Acquired by Paul Rettinger some time after the war | |||
| Schloss Rosenegg [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Rosenegg (Steyr)|de]]] | Upper Austria | ~1525: Bought by Achaz von Hohenfeld (~1491-1545) | ~1537: Sold by Achaz von Hohenfeld to Hanns von der Pruckhen | |||
| Schloss Obereitzing [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Obereitzing|de]]] | Upper Austria | 1602: Inherited by Achaz von Hohenfeld (1551-1603) through his mother Rosina von Paumgarten's (1523-1568) family | 1638: Sold by one of Achaz' exiled Protestant sons to Johann Adolf von Tattenbach | |||
| Schloss Wildenhag [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Wildenhag|de]]] | Upper Austria | 1614: Left to Marx von Hohenfeld (1577-1618) by Georg Hutstocker | ~1620: Loaned by Marx' sons Ferdinand (1612-1675) and Wolf Ludwig (1615-...) from their exiled Protestant uncle Ludwig von Hohenfeld (1576-1644) | 1635: Sold by Ludwig (1576-1644), due to his exile | ||
| Burg Wildenstein [<nowiki/>[[:de:Burg Wildenstein (Bad Ischl)|de]]] | Upper Austria | 1615: Listed among Christoph von Hohenfeld's (1580-1631) possessions | after 1615 | |||
| Schloss Egeregg [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Egeregg|de]]] | Linz | 1615: Bought by Christoph von Hohenfeld (1580-1631) from Michael Pittersdorfer von Freyhof | 1622 and 1630: Sold in two phases by Christoph, due to his exile, to Constantin Grundemann von Falkenberg | |||
| Burg Reichenstein [<nowiki/>[[:de:Burg Reichenstein (Österreich)|de]]] | Upper Austria | ~1616: Probably bought by Christoph von Hohenfeld (1580-1631) after the previous owner's (Hans von Haim's [<nowiki/>[[:de:Haim (Adelsgeschlecht)|de]]], 1544-1616) death | ? | |||
| Schloss Walterskirchen [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Walterskirchen|de]]] | Lower Austria | 1683: Rebuilt by his son Otto Heinrich von Hohenfeld (1650-1719) | ||||
| Freihaus Hohenfeld [<nowiki/>[[:de:Freihaus Hohenfeld|de]]] | 1680: Acquired from the Lords of Polheim [<nowiki/>[[:de:Polheim (Adelsgeschlecht)|de]]] | 1786: Sold as civic property | ||||
| Schloss Gobelsburg [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Gobelsburg|de]]] | Lower Austria | 1693: Inherited by Otto Ferdinand Felix von Hohenfeld (1674-1741) | 1725: Modernized by Otto Achaz Ehrenreich von Hohenfeld | |||
| Schloss Hirschstetten [<nowiki/>[[:de:Schloss Hirschstetten|de]]] | 1693: Constructed for Otto Ferdinand Felix von Hohenfeld (1674-1741) |